The Case Against Criminalization of HIV Transmission

Extract

Criminal law has been invoked throughout the HIV epidemic to deter and punish transmission. The public health community has not favored its use, but neither has it taken a vigorous stand against it. Meanwhile, governments continue to adopt HIV-specific criminal laws, and individuals with HIV continue to be prosecuted under general criminal law. Criminal law cannot in this area draw reasonable lines between criminal and noncriminal behavior, nor prevent HIV transmission. For women, it is a poor substitute for policies that go to the roots of subordination and gender-based violence. The use of criminal law to address HIV infection is inappropriate except in rare cases in which a person acts with conscious intent to transmit HIV and does so.

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